Zam Zam Water

The Well of Zamzam (or the Zamzam Well, or just Zamzam; Arabic: زمزم‎) is a well located within the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, 20 m (66 ft) east of the Kaaba, the holiest place in Islam. According to Islamic belief, it is a miraculously generated source of water from Allah, which began thousands of years ago when Abraham‘s (Ibrāhīm) infant son Ishmael (ʼIsmāʻīl) was thirsty and kept crying for water. Millions of pilgrims visit the well each year while performing the Hajj or Umrah pilgrimages, in order to drink its water.

Zamzam water and potential health risks

The British Food Standards Agency has in the past issued warnings about water claiming to be from the Zamzam Well containing dangerous levels of arsenic;[10][dead link]such sales have also been reported in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where it is illegal to sell Zamzam water. The Saudi government has prohibited the commercial export of Zamzam water from the kingdom. In May 2011, a BBC London investigation found that water taken from taps connected to the Zamzam Well contained high levels of nitrate, potentially harmful bacteria, and arsenic at levels three times the legal limit in the UK, the same levels found in illegal water purchased in the UK.Arsenic is acarcinogen, raising concerns that Muslims who regularly consume commercial Zamzam water in large quantities may be exposed to higher risks of cancer.

Later in that month the Council of British Hajjis stated that drinking Zamzam water was safe and disagreed with the BBC report. They also went on to point out that the Government of Saudi Arabia does not allow the export of Zamzam water for resale. Also stating that it was unknown if the water being sold in the UK was genuine, people should not buy it and report the sellers to the Trading Standards.

The BBC’s findings have drawn mixed reactions from the Muslim community.Environmental health officer Dr Yunes Ramadan Teinaz told the British broadcaster about commercially marketed Zamzam water that, “People see this water as a holy water. They find it difficult to accept that it is contaminated, but the authorities in Saudi Arabia or in the U.K. must take action. The Saudi authorities have stated that water from the well was tested by the Group Laboratories of CARSO-LSEHL in Lyon, licensed by the French Ministry of Health for the testing of drinking water. According to reports of these results, the level of arsenic in Zamzam water taken at its source is much lower than the maximum amount permitted by the World Health Organization. The Saudi authorities have thus said that the water is fit for human consumption. Zuhair Nawab, president of the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS), has claimed that the Zamzam Well is tested on a daily basis, in a process involving the taking of three samples from the well. These are said to be examined in the King Abdullah Zamzam Water Distribution Center in Mecca, which is equipped with advanced facilities.